SARAH’S JOURNEY OF FAITH, volume 2

Day 1 After My Conversion

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. —Acts 2:41

After my three days of hearing the gospel and surrendering to Christ, I continued an additional day at my auntie’s house while eagerly reading the Bible and copying verses. My mother hurried home, knowing trouble would await me, and she tried to smooth the way. The next day, I walked all the way home while rejoicing and singing songs to the Lord. I had no thought about what was about to happen. As I approached my home, from afar, I saw my father and brothers at the gate. As I got closer, I saw anger in their faces, but I was not alarmed. My father insisted that I sit in a chair that had been prepared, unbeknownst to me, for my questioning and angrily asked, “Where have you been these last three days?” “I have come to believe in Jesus!” I said. At that moment, my father, with my brothers’ consent, slapped me across my face with such force as to eject me from the chair. So unexpected was this response to the beautiful thing that God had done. Yes, I was added to their number, but I was on immediate notice that the cost would be steep. What Do You Think? Can you recall the early days of your salvation and how you felt when you were opposed? How did Jesus comfort you? Day 16 My Special Auntie Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.—Acts 9:39 “I’ll be right here until you close your eyes in sleep,” she said. Her love for the Lord and me was truly heaven-sent. This was my special auntie. The term auntie is a term of endearment that is both affectionate and respectful. It does not necessarily mean a blood relative, but one who is loved and respected as if she were. My special auntie was from my home church, and she was my elder by some thirty years. She was already in the labor camp long before I arrived. As you can imagine, the moment we met was an occasion of great joy and comfort. The Lord Jesus would use my auntie to bring special blessing and aid to my life in prison. She was my Dorcas. Just as the widows in Acts 9:39 showed Peter all the wonderful works of Dorcas, so I will show off the wonderful works of love from my special auntie. As a newcomer in the labor camp, Auntie immediately took it upon herself to help and protect me. She later told me she was honored to care for me because I was an evangelist. I told people about Jesus, and she was just a housewife who served the church with hospitality. Here are a few of the ways that she helped and protected me: In the early morning hours, while it was still dark, all prisoners were waking up and getting ready for a meager breakfast, a meal slightly above having nothing to eat at all. Then it was off to the work camps. My auntie, because the guards were brutal to any prisoner running late, would rush to my side with water and toothbrush in hand for me to use while she made my bed. We would rush out in time to make roll call in the freezing cold. She had a knack for getting through the food line and out in plenty of time for work duties. Because of her ability to survey the prison environment and make the most of it, she made my life enormously easier. All during the day, she would look in on me, and we would steal away moments of fellowship and prayer. At night, as we returned from fifteen to eighteen hours of forced labor, she would quickly dart away as I made my way slowly to our prison dorm. When I would arrive, she would have my bed turned down with hot tea prepared and the bed warming with a makeshift hot water bottle. How could this be? I thought. She does more work than I do! Auntie possessed the love, energy, and sagacity that would welcome me back to the dorm with all the humble comforts of prison. I would plop down on my bed (rack) in total exhaustion, and she would be warming my bitterly cold legs and feet by massaging them back to life. What kind of woman is this? I would marvel. So selfless and genuinely caring. I could never repay her for her works of service for me. The day of her release was soon, and the guards had commanded her to gather her things together for her discharge. Strangely, she went about her business as usual. Even the other prisoners, who were excited about her release, were a bit perplexed. “She doesn’t act like she’s happy or excited,” they would whisper among themselves. Finally, the day of release had come, and the guards came to escort her out of the dorm. She refused to go. The situation was much more complicated than this. (See Day 17) She said, “Sarah is more important than I am. She tells people about the love of God. I want to stay and finish her time, and I ask you to let her go in my place.” The guards were stunned, not believing what they were hearing. “What?” they exclaimed. “That is impossible!” And my special auntie continued to make a case for my release and her continued imprisonment, but it was to no avail. If the widows of Lydda rightly boasted of the great acts of love Dorcas had done for them while alive, how much more can I boast about my special auntie? What Do You Think? Who in your life has been a Dorcas or special auntie who has clearly demonstrated God’s love in sacrificial action? Why not take a moment again to give thanks for shining lights in a sometimes dark world?